Dear Ohio University students,
Thank you to everyone who voted for me and my party in last Thursday's election; but, more importantly, thank you to everyone who voted at all. Campaign season had many ups and downs, but I would have changed only one thing about it: turnout. Few students who were not affiliated with either ticket or the press showed up to the debates, and voter turnout was only a little greater than 10 percent. Such low student involvement in the process is because of a lack of familiarity with Student Senate's purpose and function. Students largely do not realize that Student Senate has strong influence over how millions of dollars are allocated every year. Many students do not know that Student Senate appoints student representatives to each Ohio University committee. Shared governance, which this system is structured to cultivate, can only be realized when students know who these representatives are and what they are doing, and it is Student Senate's responsibility to achieve this familiarity.
Do you know who your current college representative is? Or your representative based on where you live? Did you know that these positions even existed? Such low turnout is symptomatic of the rift that has grown between students and Student Senate over past years. Student Senate will no longer rely on students to come to it. We will go out into the student community to gather student opinion and thought proactively. The representative democracy of Student Senate only functions appropriately when senators are effective leaders in touch with their constituency, and this is what we will offer. Next year, I promise that you will not only know the answers to the aforementioned questions, but also how you yourself can directly get involved in student government and have your voice heard. I encourage everyone to apply for Student Senate commissioner and staff positions, for which applications will be disseminated this week. Keep in mind that, while there are these specific positions, there is no finite number of positions on Student Senate, and every student who comes forth will have opportunities to affect Ohio University policy. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and get used to hearing from me and your other Student Senate representatives.
Robert Leary is a junior studying classics and president-elect of Ohio University's Student Senate.
4 Opinion
Letter to the Editor
